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Legal Aspe cts
Untold problem s will face the merchants and public officials
in their efforts to accomplish the pr oposed objectives . Is it legal
to clos e Saunders Street? Wh o is t o pay for the trees, plantings,
sidewalks, parking fa ci litie s and all the other improvements suggested
as elements in the plan? How should the town fairly apportion these
betterment c har ges among the a ffe c ted merchants? This section will
attempt to answer some of these querie s and clarify their legal im-pli
ca tions. It will be shown that cas e law and statute language
allow several d iffer ent approaches . Apex officials should choose
among them to determ ine what actions and procedures are most amenable
to the local . . 1
s~tu a t~ un .
A general idea of the town's ability to accomplish certain
goals ca n be inferred from a study of Apex' s Town Charter, the general
statute law and the app l icable cas e law. These are proposed as re-commended
readings for the members of the Downtown I mprovem ent Assoc ­iation
and others interested in the Asso ciation's labors .
Fr om the above noted sources, c erta in rather pertinent legal
fa c ts and inferen c e s rel a t Lng to the proposed Apex improvem e nt plan can
be observed. The y ar e reviewed below under the appropriat e categories .
A. Clo s ing of Sa unders Street
It has been held that the public interest and convenience are
the prime co nsiderations for legality when a municipality wishes to
vacate a street. Furthermore, it has been established that this power
to vacat e includes the power to vacate a portion thereof
1 The materia l s in thi s section are adapted from the Division of
Commun ity Pl anning's booklet entitled: Legal Consideration in
Centr a l Business District Planning and Development by Steve
Bl ackwell, 1965 .
- 109 -

Legal Aspe cts
Untold problem s will face the merchants and public officials
in their efforts to accomplish the pr oposed objectives . Is it legal
to clos e Saunders Street? Wh o is t o pay for the trees, plantings,
sidewalks, parking fa ci litie s and all the other improvements suggested
as elements in the plan? How should the town fairly apportion these
betterment c har ges among the a ffe c ted merchants? This section will
attempt to answer some of these querie s and clarify their legal im-pli
ca tions. It will be shown that cas e law and statute language
allow several d iffer ent approaches . Apex officials should choose
among them to determ ine what actions and procedures are most amenable
to the local . . 1
s~tu a t~ un .
A general idea of the town's ability to accomplish certain
goals ca n be inferred from a study of Apex' s Town Charter, the general
statute law and the app l icable cas e law. These are proposed as re-commended
readings for the members of the Downtown I mprovem ent Assoc ­iation
and others interested in the Asso ciation's labors .
Fr om the above noted sources, c erta in rather pertinent legal
fa c ts and inferen c e s rel a t Lng to the proposed Apex improvem e nt plan can
be observed. The y ar e reviewed below under the appropriat e categories .
A. Clo s ing of Sa unders Street
It has been held that the public interest and convenience are
the prime co nsiderations for legality when a municipality wishes to
vacate a street. Furthermore, it has been established that this power
to vacat e includes the power to vacate a portion thereof
1 The materia l s in thi s section are adapted from the Division of
Commun ity Pl anning's booklet entitled: Legal Consideration in
Centr a l Business District Planning and Development by Steve
Bl ackwell, 1965 .
- 109 -